This chapter deals with the physical components of a SQL Server database system. Beginning with the server hardware, organizing the data storage and creating the physical files is where a lot of future performance will be determined.

Introduction

This chapter deals with the physical components of a SQL Server database
system. Beginning with the server hardware, organizing the data storage and
creating the physical files is where a lot of future performance will be
determined. There are many options to consider for a production environment, and
one thing is certain: The minimum installation requirements will not be
sufficient. The computer hardware components are only the beginning of the
physical elements.

Although we tend to think of the physical realm as things that we can touch
and feel, within a DBMS environment it also defines the components of the
database itself. The database layout, the key structures, constraints, and other
software elements are all considered physical elements. It’s time for the
entities discussed in the logical design to become tables.

In any physical design, the goal is to provide an efficient and responsive
database system that also lends itself to appropriate maintenance tasks without
becoming a database administrator’s burden. At this stage of a database
implementation, care is taken to provide a system structure that is usable,
provides for optimum user response time, can be readily maintained, and above
all meets the needs of the business for which it was designed.

In moving from an idea to a logical structure to the actual physical
elements, you must remember to consider elements that contribute to performance,
reliability, and data integrity. Having a model of the system is one thing, but
it must be able to meet the demands of an environment in which inevitably the
system must meet the intended goals of the company and add to the bottom
line.

In a book of this nature, trying to fit all topics into the fray in a logical
manner can sometimes be awkward. In this chapter we will discuss some of the
hardware implementations that probably should wait for a database design and
other criteria. We will approach the hardware next from a standpoint of what the
baseline rules are for establishing the server.